Scores of other law enforcement officers attended Tephford's viewing at T.M. Ralph Funeral Home in Sunrise. Some knelt before his flag-draped coffin and prayed. Others offered quiet condolences to his mother and two aunts.

Tephford, 34, spent about 15 years in South Florida, six years with the Broward Sheriff's Office, before he was gunned down during a traffic stop Saturday night outside a Tamarac condominium complex.

He cracked jokes at work, he smiled often, he loved the outdoors and he kept photos of his three children in his car.

Sgt. Stephen O'Neill, Tephford's former supervisor, said he felt angry when he heard his colleague had fallen.

"He was murdered," O'Neill said. "He wasn't killed. He was murdered."

Eloyn Devon Ingraham, 28, of Sunrise, has been accused of killing Tephford and wounding Deputy Corey Carbocci. Ingraham, who was riding in the passenger seat of the Toyota Corolla stopped by Tephford, suddenly jumped out and started shooting, according to an arrest report.

Aponte, who lives in Delaware and spoke regularly to her son by phone, said she always worried about what could happen to her son on the job, and she told him so.

"He said he knew what he was doing," she said.

The Sheriff's Office honored Tephford twice: He earned a Life Saving Award in January 2003 and was named Tamarac's Deputy of the Month in December.

Aponte said she learned about her son's death at 8 a.m. Sunday when a Delaware trooper came to her front door. It had been eight hours since he was pronounced dead.

That was just two days since mother and son had last spoken over the phone. As usual, they mostly talked about his children, Aponte said. Despite entreaties from his mother that he move to Delaware or New Jersey, where most of his family resides, Tephford resolved to stay in South Florida to be close to his children, she said.

Sheriff Ken Jenne plans to deliver the eulogy at today's memorial. A video presentation featuring photos of Tephford with friends and family is scheduled.

In addition to his mother, Tephford is survived by his ex-wife, Stefanie; 4-year-old daughter, Alyssa and twin toddlers, Ashley and Zachary.

The deputy will be buried in New Jersey, with a funeral planned there next week.